POLICE CHASE: Man Crashes Into Tree

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POLICE CHASE: Man Crashes Into Tree

A man was taken to the hospital late Tuesday night after he was injured during a high-speed chase in Des Moines.

Around 10:30 p.m., an officer tried to pull over a van in the East Village but the driver, Dewain Cleaver, did not stop.

Des Moines Police Lieutenant Larry Davey says the van sped away, reaching speeds of 80 miles per hour on South East 14th Street.

Cleaver eventually lost control on Indianola Road, and crashed into a tree, sending the car into someone’s front yard.

Police say Cleaver was not wearing a seatbelt and was taken to Broadlawns with a broken arm and an injured back.

No one else was in the van.

Lt. Davey says hitting the tree may have kept the crash from being much worse. “Fortunately the tree saved the house. He hit that tree. If the tree had not been there, it probably would have hit the corner of that house.”

Lt. Davey says it appears Cleaver was drunk, but they are still investigating the case.